Trump’s war on Iran is already a muddled mess | Editorial
Nearly two weeks into the war, Donald Trump’s chaos and confusion have remade the world into a more dangerous place.
On the same day Donald Trump said the war in Iran could end “very soon,” the Defense Department declared on social media, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.”
The mixed messaging was in keeping with the president’s circular reasoning for his war of whim. He has cycled through an ever-changing list of reasons for starting the war, including regime change, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, stopping terrorist proxies, and wiping out its navy.
Out of the confusion this much is clear: Trump has no idea what he is doing, and his word is no good. Nearly two weeks into the war, Trump’s chaos and confusion have remade the world into a more dangerous place.
More unsettling perhaps, it appears Trump was misled into war by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister who faces corruption charges at home and allegations of having committed war crimes abroad. Talk about a role model.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. entered the war because Israel was prepared to act first. He tried to walk back the comments but the New York Times detailed a timeline of how Netanyahu manipulated Trump.
Netanyahu has already destroyed most of Gaza. Is that the plan for Iran?
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) hinted at a different endgame when he said once the Iran regime is toppled, “we’re gonna make a ton of money.”
Send in Trump’s profiteers, son-in-law Jared Kushner and developer Steve Witkoff. Never have two unelected and unqualified men made more money for themselves while accomplishing so little.
If only some of the U.S. firepower used to bomb Iran went to stop Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, then Trump may have had a legitimate claim to the Nobel Peace Prize.
Instead, when asked about Russia sharing intelligence to help Iran attack U.S. warships, aircraft, and other military interests, Trump called the question “stupid.”
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Trump’s continued subservience to Putin is a stunning abdication of his duty to protect and defend the United States.
Likewise, the Republicans in Congress remain uninterested in fulfilling their constitutional duty to act as a check on the president after voting down a resolution to halt the war in Iran.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat from Pennsylvania who frequently represents Mar-a-Lago, joined with the GOP in paving the way for more war. In the House, all the Republicans from Pennsylvania, including Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick from Bucks County, did the same.
No debate and just a blank check from Congress.
So, what exactly have Trump and his enablers gained by attacking Iran?
Here’s a quick accounting:
The economic shock could stoke inflation and fuel the faltering job market.
The war is costing taxpayers almost $1 billion a day.
Seven U.S. service members died and about 140 have been injured, eight severely.
More than 1,200 Iranians have been killed, including roughly 175 people, most of them children, at a school struck by a U.S. missile that Trump refuses to own up to.
Thousands of Americans were left stranded in a war zone.
Bombing Iran’s oil depots unleashed thick black smoke and a toxic rain that threatened the air quality and the food and water supply.
The inhumanity risks turning the Iranian people further against America, while making the U.S. a pariah state.
The only positive development was the removal of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ruthless supreme leader.
However, Khamenei, 86, was replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who is likely to continue Iran’s hard-line theocratic rule.
So essentially Trump traded an aging ayatollah for a younger version who lost his father, wife, and a son in the attacks.
Don’t expect any olive branches from Tehran, which responded with missile and drone strikes in 10 countries across the Middle East.
The regime may be battered but it remains dangerous.
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An unrestrained and vindictive Trump is also dangerous. He has no plan and is surrounded by unserious people like Pete Hegseth, the clownish defense secretary.
The White House social media account celebrated the war with a disgusting juvenile video that wove snippets of Hollywood movies and video games with real footage of the military strikes in Iran.
Goodbye to the greatest generation. The U.S. is now led by a confederacy of dunces.
Trump looked every bit the head fool as he sported a branded white baseball hat with USA emblazoned in gold that he sells for $55 on his merch website while attending the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base of the first six U.S. soldiers killed in the war.
While the war in Iran drags on, Trump is already talking about toppling Cuba.
Apparently, all the world’s a stage as the president wreaks global chaos and accomplishes little beyond sowing death, destruction, and suffering.